One week and some pesewas

Ok so...Africa!  I guess I'll start from the beginning.  The 10 hour estimated flight time turned into 8 and a half hours, and it was very bearable.  I watched three movies on the plane and slept a minimal amount, but it was ok because that helped me to adjust to the time change.  As we flew over Accra, all of the houses looked surprisingly big and luxurious--as it turns out most of Accra has half-constructed infrastructure--so a lot of the buildings are just cinder block frames.  We got a short explanation for that in class the other day.  Our economics teacher told us it has to do with inflation--and many people build homes with their own pocket money so it can take a long time for them to have enough to complete the project.  When I stepped off the plane, I walked into 98 degree heat and something like 98% humidity. So the new standard is to sweat through all my clothes.When I was going through "customs" (they didn't look through my bags at all) I met two other kids on my program: Alyssa and Jack.  We got our passports checked at the same time and told the customs officer we were students, which was a mistake because he questioned us for a long time and then stamped our passports for 30 days.  I was a little worried about that at first, but the SIT coordinators have taken everyone's passports for safe keeping and to take care of extensions.  The first three nights we stayed in Suma Court Hotel in the suburbs of Accra.  We attended a theatrical performance called Midnight Hotel about a lady's infidelity and the comedic aftermath...a lot of the jokes were lost in translation but it was fun to watch.  Now i'm in  my homestay in Medina (a district? in Accra) with  "Auntie Pat" (short for Patience), her husband Uncle John, and their niece, Agnes.I think they are relatively well off because their house is very big, they have nice living room furniture, and they own their own car. I really like Uncle John. He's quiet most of the time but he has a good sense of humor.  He's a photographer, which we talked about briefly and on the second day he offered to show me some pictures he had taken earlier in the week.  Auntie Pat makes sandwiches for a living, I think???? and she dances.  It's all pretty confusing  All I know is some lady brought in 500 loaves of bread and I offered to help...so I ended up buttering LITERALLY 300 pieces of bread on both sides. In 1720381degree heat. So that felt like hell. But it was a good learning experience.The first night at my homesta, Auntie Pat asked me to say a prayer, which was awkward.  She said "you are welcome to eat but first you must say our prayer" I ended up mumbling some embarrassing thing about our heavenly father.  After I was done with the prayer Uncle John laughed at me and then said "that's ok".  I eat a lot of fried chicken, yams (which are not like american yams, but more like a regular potato), rice, and various spicy stews.  They over feed me  here--but I've finally learned how to say "no thank you" in Twi--"daabi madasi"--so that's helped a little. I listen to more country music here than I have in my entire 21 years of life in Nashville.  Auntie's friend is the country music radio announcer so we listen to his show every night and she usually calls in with requests.  I now know at least three Brad Paisley songs.  I also learned that Kate is a really common name here and on my way to school I pass "Kate's hair salon".  Most of the street stand names are biblical references like "Trust Him internet cafe" or "Because He lives bar and grille" etc. etc. etc.   I've been taking bucket showers every day since moving in with my homestay.  I don't mind it being cold though, it's actually a great relief. My host family's bathroom is separated into two rooms: one with a toilet and the other with a big open shower, basicaly a tiled square with no curtain.  At school we've been learning twi daily, intermixed with economics, ghanian music history, geography, dance, drums, scupture, batik, and weaving.  My friend Jack is a drummer so he's coordinated two 2-hour group drum lessons for us with the master drummer.  The bell is the most essential part of the african drum circle, and the beat it keeps is very different than any western beat. We're all terrible dancers, which is good for me because I don't look as stupid.  Yemi (SIT academic director) said "You won't find any Africans awkward at rhythm" and it's true, they make it look so easy.  Last Sunday we went to a funeral, which is a three-day celebratory event that includes singing and drumming and dancing.  We were all included in the dance circle and that was very humbling. Art for art's sake is looked down upon in Ghana because all art is meant to have a function--but we visited the home of a fine artist yesterday who taught us scupture.  his property is gated and aside from the heat, it was impossible to even tell we were still in Ghana.  he built his own art studio beside his home.  colored glass hung from all the trees , he had his own backyard garden, And his own scuptures spotted his yard (kind of like aT THE ORRAll's house).  It was really cool to see--and he was a very interesting man--supposedly the only artist of his kind in ghana--but he says he loves ghana And will never mOVE awAY (although he is very well travelled aND HAS taught in europe and the US).  ThIS post is going on forever, but there's so much to say!  The roads here are absolutley crazy.  Most are dirt, there are a few paved roads--but there are no traffic laws whatsover and it's so far gone that even if they put in a stopsign i'm pretty sure no one would even take notice.  Tro-tros and taxis are the main forms of transportation.  I take a taxi to school and it costs me 60 pesewas (roughly 60 cents). Tro-tros (basicalLLY 16 passenger vans) Are cheaper to take BECAuse they are on a line--but taXIS Are seemingly more efficient.  (i'm having trouble with the shift key, if you haven't noticed). 

I'm running out of internet time so that's all for now. I'M HAVING a great time but I miss everyone!